The WACC of US Ecology Inc (ECOL) is 8.1%.
| Range | Selected | |
| Cost of equity | 8.00% - 10.60% | 9.30% |
| Tax rate | 24.60% - 31.20% | 27.90% |
| Cost of debt | 4.00% - 12.60% | 8.30% |
| WACC | 6.3% - 10.0% | 8.1% |
| Category | Low | High |
| Long-term bond rate | 3.2% | 3.7% |
| Equity market risk premium | 4.2% | 5.2% |
| Adjusted beta | 1.13 | 1.23 |
| Additional risk adjustments | 0.0% | 0.5% |
| Cost of equity | 8.00% | 10.60% |
| Tax rate | 24.60% | 31.20% |
| Debt/Equity ratio | 0.5 | 0.5 |
| Cost of debt | 4.00% | 12.60% |
| After-tax WACC | 6.3% | 10.0% |
| Selected WACC | 8.1% | |
The Cost of Equity reflects the return a company needs to deliver to shareholders to justify the risk of investing in its shares. It’s computed using the Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM), which blends the risk-free rate, the stock’s beta, and the market risk premium.
This method evaluates the stock’s risk compared to a safe investment and the market’s overall volatility.
Here’s how we figure out the cost of equity for ECOL:
cost_of_equity (9.30%) = risk_free_rate (3.45%) + equity_risk_premium (4.70%) * adjusted_beta (1.13) + risk_adjustments (0.25%)
We include the risk adjustments, which range from 0% to 1%, to keep our WACC conservatives, especially for companies traded in developing markets.